The Al Quds Day ceremony held at the At-Tawhid Mosque on August 2, in Buenos Aires, featured community leader, Sheikh Abdul Karim Paz, who called for the destruction of the State of Israel and absolved Mohsen Rabbani, the 1994 Iranian Cultural Attaché in Buenos Aires implicated in the terrorist attack on AMIA Jewish Center.

Al Quds Day, originally conceived by Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Khomeini in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to spur attacks on Israel, was attended in Buenos Aires by radical activists Luis D’Elia and Fernando Esteche, and former Montoneros guerrilla leader Roberto Perdía.Luis D’Elia boasted proudly of his contacts with Hizbollah, describing it as a political party, adding that, rather than “two States for two people”, it was time to consider “maybe, there should be just one people, one single State”. He also claimed that “in Argentina, there is a brutal media network, where the dominant voices are the Zionists”, demanding that “Israel recognize Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands”, in reciprocity for the recognition of Israel by Argentina. He concluded by applauding the publicly disputed Argentina-Iran agreement on the AMIA case, singed in January 2013.

Fernando Esteche declared, “We have learned from Imam Khomeini that religion and politics cannot be separated,” adding, “One cannot accuse Syria or Iran of being terrorist States, or disassociate from Hizbollah, and, at the same time, claim to defend the Palestinian cause.”

Sheikh Abdul Karim Paz promised that, on every future Al Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, “We will march in front of the Israeli Embassy, for as long as that oppressive State exists”… “the true Israel is the one that followed Moses against the Pharaoh; the current Israel is an impostor aligned with Great Britain and the United States, the Pharaohs of today. This Israel can hardly live in the hearts of believers and humanity.”

Regarding the Argentine-Iran AMIA Memorandum of Understanding, Sheik Paz proclaimed, “The day that truth will surface, Sheikh [Mohsen] Rabbani, the spiritual leader of Latin America and of this community, will land at Buenos Aires airport and we will receive him with a red carpet.” He explained that, at present –indicted suspect in the bombing- Rabbani is prohibited from entering Argentina due to “a gang of liars, criminals and murderers who are accusing him of something that he did not commit and that never happened.”

The Sheikh then welcomed the new Iranian diplomatic representative in Buenos Aires, arguing, “Now Argentina has understood how things are, it wishes to turn the page and rid itself of the United States and Israel.”

Finally, Paz made unambiguously clear regarding Israel: “We want that State to disappear, without any Jewish bloodshed; but yes, we want that State to disappear.”

“This Al Quds Day provocation has set a tone of impunity for 1992 Israel Embassy and 1994 Jewish Center style bombings by the same perpetrators. It seems proof positive of the recent indictment by AMIA Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, pointing to a growing Iranian and Hizbollah sleepers network across South America. Ignoring such calls for violence certainly abuses Argentine democracy and can threaten the security of every Argentine citizen,” stated Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“Apparently, the speakers at Al Quds Day in Buenos Aires feel energized and empowered, by the Argentina-Iran agreement, to now foment hate with impunity,” added Sergio Widder, the Center’s Director for Latin America.

The information about the speeches mentioned in this report was obtained through videos originally posted on youtube.com

For further information, please contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158 or Sergio Widder at +54911 4425-1306, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).